Monday, June 6, 2011

I Am Cuba (1964)

A series of stories set before and during the Cuban Revolution illustrate the inherent corruption and injustice which necessitated violent uprising.

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Even the most conservitive university in the world will show you Battleship Potemkin. Sure it’s Soviet propaganda, but it’s EXPERTLY CRAFTED propaganda. The same goes for Leni Riefenstahl’s Nazi-palooza The Triumph of the Will. If the technique on display is overpowering enough, people will watch anything, regardless of the message.

Another film that I would ad to this triumvirate of propaganda is the Soviet/Cuban co-production I Am Cuba. Produced in 1964, I Am Cuba was not released in America until 1995. Yet within five years of that release, homages were already showing up in the films of some of our greatest working directors (Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights and David O. Russell’s Three Kings).

So what is it that makes I Am Cuba so special? Check this out:

The entire film is made up of amazing long shots like this, strung together, one after the other! Even if you find Communism completely odious, you should just turn off the sound and take in the beautiful images. They really must be seen to be believed.